tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post5712655598063200632..comments2014-05-09T13:25:02.936-05:00Comments on The Atheist Experience™: And the mail keeps coming...Martinnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-89363836946545449382008-09-19T23:24:00.000-05:002008-09-19T23:24:00.000-05:00Sorry to post something unrelated, but I didn't ge...Sorry to post something unrelated, but I didn't get a reply to email. I wrote a ditty about toothpicks (discussed several episodes ago), posted here: http://willmoremusic.com/assets/jesus_toothpick2.mp3<BR/><BR/>Enjoy.twillmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01305544909850640186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-63892171665539322352008-09-17T01:07:00.000-05:002008-09-17T01:07:00.000-05:00"...some of the other cohosts, like Tracie, offeri...<I>"...some of the other cohosts, like Tracie, offering such beautifully written and thought out responses that I can't help gritting my teeth she doesn't get a chance to post here more often than she does."</I><BR/><BR/>word to that, yo. I'd like to encourage her to write more by back-pat-commenting her posts, but i don't enjoy reading those myself. And it seems the only thing that makes her write more of those detailed and revealing posts, is when she's debating someone who just doesn't seem to "get it".<BR/><BR/>and that's my problem; I "get it". wah!milkshakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982095047672033186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-75026229586326332312008-09-15T10:43:00.000-05:002008-09-15T10:43:00.000-05:00"We don't trust the Bible as an accurate source, w...<I>"We don't trust the Bible as an accurate source, why do we trust the news or any other historical document?"</I><BR/><BR/>I like to think of it as a <A HREF="http://www.ooblick.com/weblog/2007/10/24/knowing-like-a-crossword-puzzle/" REL="nofollow">crossword puzzle</A>: if you're staring at a blank puzzle, and someone tells you that the answer to 13 across is "recycling", you should be skeptical, because there are likely to be several words that fit that clue.<BR/><BR/>But if you've filled in some clues already and 13 across reads "RE_Y____G" and someone tells you that the answer is "recycling", then that answer is more likely to be correct, since it fits in with your other guesses. You're not certain of any of the words, but the fact that they fit well with each other increases the likelihood that all of the guesses are correct.<BR/><BR/>Likewise, if the Washington Times reports that Joe Politician accepted bribes, citing only one source, that information is dubious. But if the Washington Post and New York Times repeat the story, citing independent sources that corroborate each other, then the information is more likely to be true.<BR/><BR/>Historical documents work the same way: if, let's say, the only evidence for the existence of Homer are the Iliad and Odyssey, then it's quite plausible that "Homer" is a pseudonym, or a group alias, or some other fictional author.<BR/><BR/>But if, as for George Washington, there are letters allegedly written by him, books and newspaper articles written by both his supporters and enemies, paintings, and so on, then the idea that George Washington actually existed becomes much more plausible, even if each individual piece of evidence can be doubted.arensbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251547886605570242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-5438172743578995132008-09-13T23:46:00.000-05:002008-09-13T23:46:00.000-05:00Christians who adhere to a literal interpretation ...Christians who adhere to a literal interpretation of Genesis dislike evolution because it disagrees with Biblical literalism. Since Genesis says that god created man, a Biblical literalist cannot accept the possibility that humans share a common ancestor with other primates and that we evolved over time through descent with modification. And since Biblical literalists believe that not believing in a literal interpretation of the Bible is a ticket to an eternity of suffering in hell in the afterlife, then it's no wonder they don't want it taught to their children in the schools.Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14751182125861177379noreply@blogger.com